A FLOOD damage repair bill of £125,000 faced by Bradford Amateur Rowing Club after the Boxing Day deluge can nearly be paid off, thanks to a donation from Rotary International.

The raging River Aire destroyed Hirst Weir, where the club is based, which had to be rebuilt using 2,000 tonnes of sandstone.

Rowing club president Celia Hickson members had asked Shipley Rotary Club for help, and it had passed on that request to Rotary International in Britain and Ireland (RIBI).

“They have supplied our weir repair fund with a whopping £17,500 grant from RIBI Flood Relief Funds, which is ‘oarsome’,” Dr Hickson said.

“The Boxing Day Floods are a bit yesterday’s news, but our fundraising goes on as the weir repairs have not finished yet.

“This donation from Rotary is amazing news for us and we are extremely grateful to all of those within the local, regional and national Rotary groups who have championed our cause.

The outgoing president of Shipley Rotary, Chris Clough, presented a cheque to Dr Hickson. He said: “Rotary has a long and proud history of supporting local charities and the case of Bradford Amateur Rowing Club came to our attention in January.

“We are delighted that our regional and national colleagues have supported the repair of the weir which is vital to maintaining rowing on the River Aire.”

Both Bradford Grammar School, who supported the weir repair fund with a £10,000 donation earlier this year, and Bradford University Boat Club use the facilities at Hirst Weir, which include a Victorian Club house.

“We are so grateful to everyone who has helped and now we’re not far off our target,” said Dr Hickson.

“Our summer regatta last month was phenomenally successful with clubs from all over the North who helped us by providing cash, boats, places to row and lots of cash donations.

“The autumn regatta takes place on Saturday, September 1, and we hope that will be a big success too.

“There is always a lot of interest in rowing after the Olympics and we are having a come-and-meet-us event with a barbecue on Saturday, August 27, when people can come and see what we’re all about and have a chat.

“We currently have some 200 members and all our details are available on our website, bradford rowing.co.uk.”